What is crowdfunding, and how does it apply to authors?
Thomas: The short definition would be funding from a crowd or raising money from a group of people.
That answer only earns partial credit, though. In many ways, crowdfunding is not new. People have been raising funds from groups for a long time. If you attend church, you have probably seen a collection plate passed for voluntary donations to support operations.
What feels new are platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, which make it much easier to raise money from a large audience without needing an institution, a building, or all the traditional infrastructure. The easiest way to understand how crowdfunding works is through a story.
How can crowdfunding rescue a book publishers reject?
Thomas: A friend of ours, Mary DeMuth, wanted to write a book. She had written many books before and had strong relationships with publishers. But this time, every publisher turned the book down. The subject was sexual abuse, and they did not know how to sell it or didn’t believe the audience was large enough.
Mary still felt strongly that she needed to write the book, and she knew she had an audience from her blog and previous books. She also wanted to publish it professionally, with the same quality as her traditionally published work. She did not want to rush out a low-quality print on demand edition.
When she created a budget, she realized it would cost about $10,000 for editing, offset printing, and other production expenses. She did not have that money available.
We worked together to launch a campaign on Indiegogo. Supporters could pledge at different levels. For $10, they received the ebook. For $16, they received the ebook and paperback. For $30, they received a signed copy. At higher levels, such as $100 or $250, Mary offered a Skype conversation. At the top tier, she offered to visit a church and lead a workshop or seminar.
People began backing the campaign, often at higher levels than expected. Readers who might have purchased a $10 book instead pledged $20 or $30 and bought multiple copies because they wanted to see the book funded. They felt a sense of ownership and investment in its creation.
After 30 days, the campaign raised $25,000 for a book publishers had rejected.
How does crowdfunding affect book sales after launch?
Thomas: Because of the extra funding, Mary was able to produce a professional audiobook, create a study guide, and add other enhancements. She also had a group of committed readers.
Here is the surprising part. In the first month after launch, she sold as many copies, if not more, as the number of people who backed the crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding did not hurt her sales. It strengthened them.
The books were shipped directly from the printer to backers, so on launch day there was immediate buzz and momentum. The book, Not Marked by Mary DeMuth, became a very successful Indiegogo campaign.
Is crowdfunding only for well-known authors?
Jim: Is Mary the exception, or is this more common? Do you have another example?
Thomas: I have many examples. We have crowdfunded several books with Enclave Publishing. Another story that may feel more realistic involves Marcy Seither.
Marcy had written several books but wanted to step outside her brand with a middle grade or young adult novel. She was unsure whether there was demand for it, so she launched a Kickstarter campaign. Her goal was modest, only a few thousand dollars, but she reached it.
She later sent me a video of a classroom full of students erupting with excitement when they received copies of the book. She was in tears watching their reaction. That book would not have existed without crowdfunding support from future readers.
Jim: One obvious benefit is that you get the money upfront. Instead of investing 12 months of work without knowing whether the book will sell, crowdfunding allows authors to be paid before production begins. That is a huge advantage.
Why do people back crowdfunding campaigns?
Jim: What I struggle with, though, is understanding why people would back a book. I wrote my novel without getting paid upfront. Why would readers support an author financially before the book exists?
Thomas: That question goes to the heart of crowdfunding. There are several strong motivations for backers.
Thomas: One major reason is personal support. Friends and family who might normally expect a free copy will happily pledge $20 to support you. They may not even plan to read the book, but they want to help you succeed. That motivation is real and should not be underestimated.
Another reason is genuine interest in the book. Readers who have enjoyed your previous work want more and enjoy being part of the process. Crowdfunding gives them a sense of ownership. When the book launches, they want it to succeed because they helped make it happen.
Jim: It is like backstage access. Being backstage at a concert feels special, even if the sound is better out front.
Thomas: Exactly. That insider feeling excites people and motivates them to back a project.
What incentives can authors offer backers?
Thomas: Discounts can also be a motivation. Typically, crowdfunding prices are slightly lower than retail. Small discounts are not very compelling, but early access combined with savings can help.
For novelists, one of the most powerful incentives is naming rights. Authors may name characters, streets, or locations after backers at certain pledge levels. If a backer sees their name in the story, they become emotionally invested.
They often tell friends, “I am a character in this book,” or “I die in the opening chapter.” That excitement turns backers into enthusiastic promoters and gives them a strong reason to share your book with others.
What can crowdfunding teach you about your book idea?
Jim: Here is another question for you, Thomas. Let’s say I decide to write a book on underwater basket weaving. I am excited and convinced it will be the greatest book ever. With crowdfunding, I get to test the idea. If I try to raise $2,000 and only raise $200, that tells me something important. It suggests this may not be a great idea, right?
Thomas: Exactly. Crowdfunding helps you avoid expensive failure. It also prepares you for success. If your underwater basket weaving book goes viral and 10,000 people back it, you do not want to print 10,000 copies using print on demand. That would be very expensive. With that level of demand, you can switch to offset or digital offset printing and save a significant amount of money.
You would never have the confidence to print that many copies without knowing the demand existed. Crowdfunding helps you plan for both success and failure.
Is crowdfunding more effective than a book launch?
Thomas: There are four reasons crowdfunding is more effective than a traditional book launch when it comes to motivating people to buy.
Excitement
Thomas: A traditional book launch can be exciting, but a crowdfunding campaign adds uncertainty. You do not know whether it will succeed. It is like a football game. If you do not know who will win, the game is more exciting than if the outcome feels guaranteed.
With Kickstarter, you either win big or do not win at all. The funding total is displayed prominently like a scoreboard, and everyone is cheering you on. Here is a helpful insight. Campaigns that reach 60 percent funding go on to reach 100 percent funding about 99 percent of the time. Once you hit that threshold, your fans usually carry you the rest of the way.
Urgency
Thomas: With a normal book release, readers can always say, “I’ll buy it tomorrow,” and tomorrow often never comes.
With a crowdfunding campaign, there is a clear deadline. Kickstarter counts down the days, and as the end approaches, it switches to hours. When people see there are only a few hours left, they act.
Jim: That urgency also comes from incentives. You can say, “If you do not back by September 30, you will miss out on this.”
One example that stands out to me is A Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. They wanted to make a movie but did not have the funding. A group of fans launched a Kickstarter campaign to make it happen, and it worked. One incentive was offered by the film’s director, Steve Taylor, who was well known in the 1980s Christian music scene. He promised that if you backed at a certain level, he would call you personally. Last I heard, he was still working through thousands of phone calls.
Thomas: That is a great cautionary tale. You never want to promise something that requires individual time at scale. Writing thank you notes or making phone calls should only be offered at very high pledge levels. If a million people back your campaign, you cannot write a million notes.
On the other hand, offering to include names in a book is scalable. Kickstarter exports a list, and you can paste it into the manuscript. That is far more realistic.
Scarcity
Thomas: You can limit the number of backers at certain reward levels. Combined with a deadline, this creates the feeling that if someone does not act now, they will miss out.
Scarcity is a powerful marketing motivator, and books rarely benefit from it. Traditional book marketing aims to make a book ubiquitous. Crowdfunding lets you make the book scarce during the campaign and ubiquitous after release. You get the benefits of both.
Jim: People understand this instinctively at Christmas. The toy that becomes scarce is the one everyone wants. That demand snowballs, and the same principle applies here.
Popularity
Thomas: Crowdfunding also creates popularity or social proof. Backers get a story to tell. If a book becomes popular, they can say, “I backed that before it was cool.” That sense of early adoption matters.
You see this clearly in board games. Someone pulls out a game and says, “This is the Kickstarter edition.” That signals status and motivates others to back projects as well.
Visual
Thomas: Finally, crowdfunding shows popularity visually. The number of backers is displayed prominently. People want to do what others are already doing. That social proof drives more participation.
The four reasons crowdfunding outperforms a traditional launch are excitement, urgency, scarcity, and popularity.
What are the downsides of crowdfunding?
Thomas: There are real risks.
Possibility of Public Failure
The first is that failure is very public. A failed Kickstarter campaign becomes a permanent online record. Everyone can see how much you hoped to raise and how much you actually raised.
That can be intimidating.
However, failure is not always the end. One of the most successful Kickstarter products ever, the Coolest Cooler, originally failed to fund. The creators adjusted their goal and relaunched. The second campaign raised more than $10 million.
If a book fails privately, almost no one knows. If it fails on Kickstarter, everyone can see it.
Learning Curve
Thomas: The second risk is the learning curve. Crowdfunding requires learning how campaigns work, especially if you have not backed many projects yourself.
Time-Intensive
The third risk is time. Running a campaign is a full-time job while it is live. Preparing the campaign takes significant effort. You have to write copy, design rewards, create a budget, and produce a video. Once the campaign launches, you must promote it consistently.
Crowdfunding is not a switch you flip to make money fall from the sky. It is more like building a fire. You add fuel, light it, and then tend it, all without knowing whether it will catch.
Thomas: Crowdfunding follows the arc of a hero’s journey. You take a big risk. It could succeed and change everything, or it could fail publicly.
I have run many campaigns for myself and clients. There is no such thing as a guaranteed success. Some projects I expected to struggle did extremely well. Others I thought would be exciting failed to gain traction.
Despite the risks, crowdfunding can be transformative. It allows people without money to publish professionally. Not everyone has $5,000 available to self-publish a book. Crowdfunding makes professional editing, design, and production accessible to authors who could not otherwise afford it.
Is crowdfunding just a passing trend?
Jim: Some people say crowdfunding has peaked and is on the downslope. What do you think?
Thomas: That sounds like people in the 1990s saying the internet was a fad. Crowdfunding is not new. People have been funding projects collectively for centuries. The internet simply makes it more efficient.
Crowdfunding is getting a lot of attention right now, which makes it a great time to use it. Even when the buzz fades, it will not disappear. Auctions are a good comparison. They were newsworthy when eBay emerged, but auctions still exist and thrive today.
Crowdfunding is not going away. In many ways, it is just beginning. Authors who jump in sooner rather than later can ride that wave.
Jim: One reason crowdfunding will last is cultural. In the 1980s, we talked about the “me generation.” Today, we have shifted toward an “us generation.” People want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and crowdfunding fits that desire perfectly.
Thomas: Exactly. Instead of a small group of gatekeepers deciding what gets published, everyone gets to participate. If you do not like the books at LifeWay or Barnes & Noble, crowdfunding gives you a way to support the books you want to see created.
It is fun to create projects and just as fun to back them.
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